Toward the Front

After serious debate the United States officially entered World War I in 1917 on the side of the Allies, overcoming strong isolationist feelings that had kept the U.S. neutral. German attacks on American shipping and Germany's attempts to bring Mexico into the war forced America’s hand. Many European soldiers left their homes three years earlier in the spring of 1914 thinking they would be home by Christmas, but found themselves locked in a grueling stalemate that the Allies hoped the American Army would help break.

In June of 1917 the Commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), General John J. Pershing, ordered the First Division to France. The division assembled for the first time on the docks of Hoboken, New Jersey, and sailed to St. Nazaire, France, providing a much needed boost to the morale of the European Allies. Eventually 42 divisions and nearly 2 million Americans would serve in Europe as part of the AEF. On July 4th, 1917, the 16th Infantry Regiment, First Division, paraded through the streets of Paris, reinforcing America’s entry and commitment to the war. After being warmly greeted by Parisians, the unit boarded a train to Gondecourt, France, for extensive training and their initiation into life in the trenches and the front-lines of the war.